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GRATITUDE: NEVER SEE THE GLASS AS HALF-EMPTY

If someone had told me a while back that “there is beauty in challenges”, I guess I would see him/her as “insane”, out of anger and frustration…Lol. But now, after overcoming a couple of challenges in my life and coming out stronger, I can’t but agree with the words, there is indeed beauty in challenges.

It’s not quick to believe, especially when you seem to be buried deep underneath a pile of difficulties and pressures but if you just pause awhile and choose to see the glass as half full instead of half empty, it would change your perception of things.

Let me share a story with you.

So, quite recently, I had some personal challenges I encountered. It really weighed me down and I felt like crap most of the time. For a couple of days, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I just watched the day go by and then came another day.

One cool evening, I felt I had had enough and so I was determined to have a heartfelt discussion with God to put an end to all this. I was already set to open my plethora of complaints and begin my litany of lamentations but a quick thought crossed my mind, “Why don’t you pause a while and think first of the other side of this issue? You have only counted your losses. What have you also gained?” (At least when you are going to court, you first have to prepare your defence so you would be ready to face the prosecution when they start blasting with their questions).

Well, I had to think mine out in this my discussion with God and as I did so, I realized that indeed, I had no case. I had only been looking at the glass as half-empty instead of half-full. I saw I had a multitude of things to be grateful for and instead of doing that, I was playing the ingrate and the “very needy” card.

I was swamped with the “I don’t have” mentality and dwelling on my lack, blinded me as I focused on the mountainous heap of needs and wants that faced me so much so that I had not even taken out time to properly thank God for all I already had.

Now, I felt ashamed as I realized this and suddenly my approach to God in prayer changed. I was overwhelmed with all I had and gratitude opened my eyes to see a path through these mountains and what I had to do to bring them down.

The mistake most of us make is we always want to start from what we don’t have…..

You want to begin a business, you don’t have the capital to begin, so the business is put on hold. What happened to preparing a business plan and stating all you would need for this business idea of yours to come to fruition? This, you can show people and who knows where your help would come from?

You want a job, but you haven’t prepared yourself with the requirements needed for that job role. What happened to doing the needful to boost your CV, studying and equipping yourself with the knowledge to make you suitable for that job role?

We keep dwelling on what we DON’T HAVE instead of beginning from what WE DO HAVE forgetting that we can only create the unknown from the known. That is the simple truth about challenges.

If your list of goals is not in accordance with what you already have to work with, then you rearrange and re-prioritize these goals. There is no definite order in which you must accomplish your goals especially if they are independent of each other. Do those things you can and from there work your way to the seemingly difficult ones. Don’t put anything on hold.

JUST ACT!

You may just be shocked that the first action you decide to take would reveal or bring to you the solution to the first hassle you faced when you looked at your list of goals. Stop playing the victim card. Do what you can and every other thing would magically fall into place. Someone once told me, “The universe doesn’t respond to lack. There is always the need to transmit abundance”.